Farr 40 Australian Championshionship - Talent abounds

The Farr 40 Australian Championship is sure to be hotly contested with the long list of entries boasting an abundant supply of top-notch international sailors. Eight boats from around Australia have entered the series, which will be raced on Sydney Harbour this weekend.

Six short and sharp races are scheduled to be held inside Sydney Harbour on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th March, with the event hosted by Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. The Squadron hosted the hugely successful 2011 Australian and World Farr 40 Championships, which were the pinnacle events of the International sailing calendar last year. Principle Race Officer Rob Ridley is fresh from officiating at the Etchells World Championship which concluded over the weekend, also hosted by RSYS. The Squadron is a world-class venue with superior experience in hosting this style of event.

The impressive line-up of entries includes current Farr 40 World Champion Guido Belgiorno-Nettis and his Transfusion crew, as well as former Shockwave owner, Neville Crichton, helming Lang Walker’s Kokomo. Marcus Blackmore (Hooligan) will make a re-appearance in the class, after placing a creditable seventh overall in last year’s World Championship, which his team have followed up with a long list of successes in his TP52. Estate Master (Martin and Lisa Hill) who placed fifth in last year’s Worlds, intend to use this regatta as a pre-cursor to the Farr 40 World Championship being staged later this year in Chicago.

Newcomers to the class Sam Hill and Steve Barlow aboard Forty (previously Panther) are looking forward to the event, with Sam commenting 'We are genuinely excited about our first Farr 40 regatta. Young Will Ryan is our tactician and he should do really well. We also have on board Mark Langford who competed in the Etchells Worlds last week, so we have a very strong young team. There are just so many variables, we will have to wait and see what happens.'

Interstate contenders Howard and David Lambourne will be bringing their Farr 40 Lambourdini / Envy Scooters down from Brisbane to mix it up with the NSW fleet, whilst Enigma (David Gotze / Michael Cranitch) incorporate some Victorian sailors into their team. Northerner Chris Way and his Pittwater-based team aboard Easy Tiger have been regular contenders in the Farr 40 circuit for many years, and hope to claim the Championship trophy for 2012.

Most crews have integrated top-level professionals to their team, including tacticians and trimmers from various classes at Olympic and International level. Several sailors in the fleet will come straight from competing in the Etchells World Championship, fresh from sailing in a highly competitive environment and still at the top of their game. As is the nature of Farr 40 One Design racing, the racing will be incredibly close, and every manoeuvre will need to be closely considered.

The first race of the regatta kicks off at 12pm on Saturday, with an intense schedule of racing over two days. The course area will be set inside Sydney Harbour to ensure spectators can get a great view of the action.